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You set the date and booked your venue. Now it's time to start looking for a wedding photographer. It can be a daunting task. As someone who had a very bad experience with their wedding photographer, it's my goal to make sure every couple feels at ease throughout the entire time working with me. A client should never feel worried or left in the dark when working with their photographer. So how do couples make sure they pick the right person for the job? Ask them questions! This is how you will know that they are the right fit for you and your wedding. Below you will find questions that every couple should be asking when they are looking for their wedding photographer.
Are you available for our wedding date?
I know this might seem like an obvious question, but before you our your photographer get invested in working together, make sure the photographer is available for your wedding date. Confirm both the date and day of the week with them to make sure you are talking about the same day. Mistakes can happen. Weddings book far out and make sure you confirm every detail about the date with your photographer. This might eliminate them from being your photographer immediately, so it's best to get that out of the way first.
How long have you been in business? How long have you been shooting weddings?
Why should you care about how long your photographer has been in business? It shows their experience. A photographer definitely becomes better as they have been doing it longer. It also gives them the life and working experience to navigate your day. You are trusting them with capturing one of the most important days of your life. It's important that you also ask them how long they have been shooting weddings. Many photographers might have been in business for a decade, but only started shooting weddings recently.
How do you backup or protect our photos to make sure they aren't lost?
This is one of the most important questions you need to ask your potential wedding photographer. These are some of the most important photos you will ever have and your wedding photographer should be handling them with great care. First, you need to know if your photographer is using multiple camera bodies the day of your wedding and those cameras need to have dual card slots. Why should you care about card slots? In dual card slot cameras, you can set the photos to be saved to each card at the same time. This is so important because cards do get corrupted sometimes. If your photographer is saving photos to two card slots, the odds are the photos will be saved on the uncorrupted card. You should also make sure your photographer has multiple camera bodies so if one camera body breaks, they have backups to shoot with.
You also need to make sure your photographer is saving your images and backing them up in multiple ways. For instance, the photographer should use at least three ways of backing up your images. For instance, putting your images on their computer, putting them on an external hard drive, putting them on a cloud and not deleting the cards until the wedding has been delivered.
Can I see examples of full wedding galleries?
Always ask your wedding photographer to see a few examples of recent wedding galleries. A professional photographer should be proud of their work and have no problem share not only one, but several examples of full wedding galleries. Instagram and websites show the best of their work, but you want to see the other photos that are included in the gallery as well. I also think it's important to ask for a rainy day gallery. You want to see how your photographer improvised when their original vision of outdoor portraits didn't work out. Many wedding photographers can get beautiful imagery in natural light, but what can they do inside using flash? It's important to have a photographer who can think on their feet and figure out how to use alternative light sources.
What is your plan if you're sick or something happens and you can't attend our wedding?
Every professional photographer will have a statement in their contract about not being able to attend the day of your wedding. It is an industry standard. Basically contracts are their to protect both parties in every situation and scenario. However, you should ask them what their plan is. Personally, my plan is that I would find you a replacement professional photographer and I would edit the images. However, what I like to talk about is my attendance record. I have never missed a wedding that I have agreed to photograph. So don't be afraid to bring up the uncomfortable scenarios that might occur and see if they have a solid plan that fits your goals for the day.
What are some other questions you think are important to ask a photographer? Leave them in the comments below!
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